FOR THE LONG HALL

Est. 2015

Hi there! It's been a few weeks (!!) since I've had a chance to post here so I thought I'd take a minute and share a) WHY and b) what's coming up soon. There has been so much going on over the last few weeks that I hardly know where to start:

A) We bought a house!!! I don't think I can appropriately put into words just how much this big life event means to Chris and I. In the context of the last year, we've now moved three times - once from our apartment in Stamford to temporary housing when I accepted my new role, then to our rental house, and now, finally, into our first "real" house. It's been a year of tremendous change (in a good way) and I can't tell you the relief I feel now that we know we are staying put for a long time.

In the context of my life, this is a HUGE deal. Many of you may not know that I was a military kid growing up - I was born in Virginia before we moved to Alaska, and then two locations in Vermont, then to Rhode Island, and then finally to coastal Connecticut before I started high school. While the experience of being the eternal new kid was something I actually didn't really mind (honestly who DOESN'T want to move during middle school?!!), I've always dreamed of being able to provide a true "home base" for my future family where my kids can play town league soccer and grow up knowing the same kids from preschool.

In the context of Chris and I's relationship, this is probably our biggest goal that we've ever worked toward. We've spent the last six years of our relationship both working as hard as possible to put ourselves in this position in our early thirties. After college I lived in a few apartments in the town Chris is from before we moved in together. Soon after we moved in together I took a job in NYC and moved in with my best friend from high school. I shared a 500 sq ft. converted 1-bedroom apartment with Michelle and another girlfriend - we shared the tiny second bedroom and slept on a full-size bunkbed (yes seriously). To be fair that was one of the best years of my twenties so no complaints here :) Chris went back to grad school in CT, I then got the job at vineyard vines, moved back to CT and started commuting 4+ hours/day while Chris finished school. Then we got married, moved to Stamford, and of course, Chris got a job back where we had just relocated from. He then took on the 4-hour commute until I was miraculously offered a great new opportunity in the Hartford area and then started the temp-rental-etc churn that we've been balancing for the last eight months.

Throughout all of this, we've pinched our pennies, stalked Trulia, and talked for hours about the home we hoped to own one day. You can imagine how excited we were when our home came on the market and all of the technicalities fell into place.

All of this to say - we've worked so. hard. to make this dream a reality. The commuting, the crazy work travel at my last job, C's master's degree - to many outsiders it seemed like we ships passing in the night and that our priorities all out of whack. I am so, so proud of the two of us for always staying true to our own path, hoping and working hard for what is now our reality. It's really hard to "see the light" when it seems like everyone around you is having kids, buying homes, etc. but you have to keep things in perspective and stay focused on YOU. My girlfriends always talk about that - no matter how far behind we feel, I'm confident there are people looking at US thinking we have it all together! I can confidently say that it was all worth it.

I also can't explain just how thankful we feel for the support of our families and our friends. Chris' parents have been over every single weekend changing light covers, helping keep us fed while we moved, etc. My mom has been our biggest champion from the minute we found "the house" and our home has been filled to the brim with grandparents, uncles, and close friends since the minute we closed. A lot of the time I wonder how I got so sincerely lucky to live this life.

B) In not so great news, I've been really sick for the last two months. I don't want to share all of the nitty gritty details with the universe but I've been in a lot of pain and in and out of various doctors and urgent care facilities for the last few months. They still don't totally know what's wrong with me but at this point their tentative diagnosis is Celiac disease coupled with some pretty miserable food allergies. Including... OAK. Meaning basically every red wine on the market. Cue misery for the holiday season!! For now, I'm on a strict no gluten, no dairy diet for the next three months and by then hopefully things will have cleared up. I am adjusting to feeling super annoying at every food establishment (who DOESN'T roll their eyes at "that girl" asking about gluten?!) but have a new found respect and understanding for people with allergies!

So what's next?! Lots of good stuff! I am backed up on a few fall (early winter? :-D) outfit posts so those are coming soon, but I'm most excited about sharing the process of getting our house "Hall-ified." We've already done a ton but not to worry, I have a pink tile bathroom, a yellow tile bathroom, forest green carpet, and plenty of wood trim to keep you all enthralled in the remodel :)

Phew, that was a long one. In summary, thank you for sticking around as I get settled in our new home and get my health back on track. I can't wait to share more in the next few weeks!